Published 21:09 IST, September 21st 2020
Direct cargo ferry service kicks off between India and Maldives from Tuticorin
A direct cargo ferry service between India & Maldives was launched on Monday, establishing the first such shipping line connecting the 2 Indian Ocean neighbours
- India News
- 2 min read
A direct cargo ferry service between India and Maldives was launched on Monday, establishing the first such shipping line connecting the two Indian Ocean neighbours.
The ferry service, which was first announced by PM Narendra Modi in June 2019 during his visit to the Maldives, was launched in an e-flag off ceremony jointly by MOS (Independent Charge) Ministry of Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya and Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation of Maldives Aishath Nahula.
The commencement of the service was announced by the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during his virtual meeting with his Maldivian counterpart Abdulla Shahid on August 13 this year.
During its maiden voyage, a vessel with a capacity of 200 TEU and 3000 MT of breakbulk cargo will sail from Tuticorin to Kochi from where it will make a stop at Kulhudhuffushi port in North Maldives, before it reaches Male on September 29. This ferry service, being operated by the Shipping Corporation of India, will run twice a month and will provide a cost-effective, direct, and alternate means of transportation of goods between India and Maldives, the MEA said.
More trade, more projects
It is expected that the ferry service will herald direct connectivity for movement of cargo between India and Maldives and thereby give a boost to bilateral trade. Despite geographical proximity, India is currently only the 4th largest trade partner of Maldives, behind China. India’s bilateral trade has hovered around USD 280 million annually for some years now and stood at USD 286.85 million in 2019.
The ferry has a cold storage facility, which will also allow more exports from the Maldives of tuna fish and other marine food items which are a specialty of Maldives.
A number of bilateral projects are in the pipeline, owing to which export of construction material and other commodities from India to the Maldives is bound to rise in the coming months. This includes the Greater Male Connectivity Project (under USD 400 million line of credit and USD 100 million grant), projects under the USD 800 million LOC.
Updated 21:09 IST, September 21st 2020